


Ḩ̵͘å̵̢͎̇͜c̴̼̼̣̉͝ķ̴̱͔̓̂e̵̦̒͛d̴͍̼̈̈

by Anonymous



Series: Ninjago Things [6]
Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: After season 7 but before season 8, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blood and Violence, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, How Do I Tag, M/M, Mind Control, Near Death Experiences, Revenge, That's a surprise character that will help us later :), The chapters get longer, Torture, Who hacked Zane?, Zane gets hacked, lol not really, zangst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:16:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 13,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27591242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Zane doesn't want to be doing these things, but it seems that he doesn't have a choice. Someone else has taken over his body- another nindroid hacked into him with the help of The Mechanic.No matter how much Zane struggles, he can't seem to break free from the other's control. He doesn't WANT to be doing these things, but what he wants doesn't really seem to matter anymore.He can only hope that someone can stop him before it's too late.
Relationships: Kai/Zane (Ninjago), Nya/Jay Walker
Series: Ninjago Things [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1686901
Comments: 77
Kudos: 60
Collections: anonymous





	1. Captured

Zane wakes up in an unfamiliar environment. It takes him a moment to take in his surroundings- and the first thing he notices is that he’s tied down. 

Strapped to a metal table with clamps that can only be vengestone, his mind is suddenly whirling as he struggles to understand what happened. 

The last thing he remembers… he was with Kai. They were going to investigate a breakout from Kryptarium Prison. A few criminals had escaped, and the two of them planned to bring them back in.

They had traced the criminals to a warehouse, and then- 

And then his warning sensors went off, but not with enough time for him to react to the threat.

He attempts to open a hatch in his arm that contains a spinning saw, but much to his dismay, nothing happens. 

He tries again, but the results are the same. It’s only when he tries to turn his head that the gravity of the situation dawns on him. 

He can’t access his motor functions. 

Someone had disconnected him from his body, leaving him trapped inside, unable to do anything but exist.

Desperately, he tries to speak, to call for help, to ask if anyone is there.

But his jaw doesn’t move, and his vocals don’t respond to his commands.

Fear shoots through him, and his mind races with memories of Chen’s island. But this is different. There, he could at least move, he could speak. But now, he’s rendered completely helpless. He doesn’t even know who his captor is!

Out of his peripheral vision, he watches a door opens, and listens as heavy footsteps make their way closer. 

If he had control of his vocals, he would have issued a cold greeting to the familiar criminal in front of him. But as it is, he can’t even control his facial plate enough to glare.

“Hello there, Zane.” The Mechanic greets, a smirk on his face. 

Once again, he tries to open his mouth, but he can’t even blink. He’s completely helpless.

He doesn’t like feeling helpless.

He tries scanning, doing a partial reboot, resetting the basic function section of his programming, tapping into all of his technological skills to attempt to regain control. 

He still can’t move a muscle. Or more accurately, a gear.

“I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to get revenge on you ninja. See, I used to repair noodle trucks for Master Chen in his underground organization. When you put him out of business, you put **_me_ ** out of business.” The Mechanic continues, as if Zane is unaware of who he is.

“And now, I have that opportunity.” He grins darkly.

Zane reassures himself with the knowledge that Kai was with him when this happened. They can’t shut him down in the same way. Kai will be able to find some way to stop whatever they have planned.

“I’ll see you when you wake up.” The Mechanic’s smirk is starting to get on his nerves.

Then the sentence registers. When he wakes up? What does he mean-

Zane’s vision goes dark, and his last thought is a desperate prayer that Kai comes up with something- and sooner rather than later.

* * *

When Zane wakes, he finds himself no longer strapped down to the table, but rather sitting on a metal seat in a polite and attentive position. 

He attempts to move, but once again, he has no control over his functions.

But then he stands, begins to walk out of the dark room he had been in. It would have been a relief- if only he was the one telling his legs to move. 

As he walks out of the warehouse, he spots his reflection on the half-shattered glass. 

His eyes glow a blood red, much like the red that **_Cryptor’s_ ** eyes would glow.

While he’s processing this, a pop-up appears in his vision. The terror that floods through him would have, in any other circumstance, stopped him in his tracks.

But instead he keeps walking, heading off to fulfill the instruction on the pop-up that has now been dismissed.

It’s with a sinking feeling in his stomach that he realizes what’s been done to him.

He’s been **_h̵̛͚̑̐̏͘à̵̼̟̜̗͒̄̂ͅc̴͇̬͖̦̎̀̂k̵̟̜̻͉̖̊̕ḛ̴̱͑̒̓͝d̴̯͘_ **.

With that horrifying understanding of his situation, Zane struggles to hack himself back, to regain control of himself.

He doesn’t want to listen to the pop-up.

He doesn’t want to follow orders.

He doesn't want to kill his friends.


	2. Frostbite

Zane screams internally as he hears his own voice request that Kai meet him at his location- in a dark and remote area in the seedy part of Ninjago City.

_ ‘Stop. Don’t come. Don’t listen to me!’ _

But his pleas go unheard.

“Zane? You escaped!” Kai laughs over the comms, clearly relieved. “What happened? How did you-”

“Hurry.” Z̵̦̙͗̾̂ä̷͔͇́n̵̝̭̲͂e̴̢̚ warns. “This is important. And don’t tell the others that you’re coming.”

He can almost see Kai’s frown. “Would you mind being a little less cryptic? Why can’t I tell the others? What-”

“ **_Hurry_ ** .” Ź̴̞̫͖̈͆a̶̧̯͙͚̓̊̈n̸͈̓̀͐ȇ̵̡ repeats, more annoyed this time. And then he cuts the connection, and stands in the dark, alone.

_ ‘Don’t come. Kai, you know something is wrong. Tell someone, don’t listen to me!’ _

A familiar red bike pulls up, and the headlights turn off as the owner gets off of it. However, the look of relief on Kai’s face is short lived.

“Zane?” He questions, a cautious note in his tone. “Is everything okay? Wh- whats going on?”

Z̸̠̞̄ă̷͓͉̊ṇ̵̟͖̝̉͌e̷̘̝͛͝ looks around warily. “Come closer.” He beckons, while Zane struggles against him. No, this can’t happen. He can’t allow Kai to get hurt!

His boyfriend walks over, a look of concern on his face. “Your eyes…” He pauses a beat. “...they’re red.”

Z̷̡̲̎͋̔a̵̼̬̲̽̂͜n̷̺̮̤͎̆̔e̶̖̙̐ tries to reply, but Zane breaks through the hold, hacking into himself, gaining a foothold that lasts just long enough for him to lock gazes with Kai.

“ **_Run_ ** .” He forces the word out, but he’s quickly locked out again, just as helpless as before.

Much to his dismay,  **_Kai doesn’t listen_ ** . 

“Run? Zane, what’s going on?” His boyfriend moves  **_closer_ ** , and Zane once again tries to gain control. 

Only this time, it doesn’t work.

He curses internally as the familiar cold spreads through him- the cold that accompanies his powers.

_ ‘No, no, no! Kai, get out of here! I don’t want to hurt you!’ _

Frost has begun to gather on his boyfriend’s gi, and Kai starts a small fire to get rid of it. “Zane, the hell are you-“

Z̸̠̞̄ă̷͓͉̊ṇ̵̟͖̝̉͌e̷̘̝͛͝ grabs his wrist. “Don’t.”

“It’s too cold. It hurts!” Kai protests. He makes the fire larger, and it steams away the ice. Ź̴̞̫͖̈͆a̶̧̯͙͚̓̊̈n̸͈̓̀͐ȇ̵̡ frowns, but before he can speak, Kai is already talking.

“Why are your eyes red? What did you mean when you said ‘run’? Why-“

Z̵̦̙͗̾̂ä̷͔͇́n̵̝̭̲͂e̴̢̚ sighs. “Kai, I am currently unable to explain the circumstances, but I need you to trust me. You  **_do_ ** trust me, right?”

Oh, he did  **_not_ ** just say that. Even a hacked version of his system wouldn’t do that!

Kai nods slowly, and the fire goes out. “With my life.” He confirms.

_ ‘No! Kai, don’t listen, please, you never do what you're told! Ignore me, get out of here!’ _

The frost begins to form again, and this time, Kai doesn’t resist. He shivers and shudders as it creeps over his skin, but he lets it continue to spread.

If things continue like this, he’ll get hypothermia! He naturally runs hot from his element, and he’ll likely freeze faster than the average person. And in the unlikely chance he does survive much more of this, he’ll end up with frostbite- and a severe case of it, too.

_ ‘Kai, PLEASE, you need to stop this! Stop me!’ _

But once again, his words go unheard.

Mustering every ounce of willpower inside of him, Zane tries to break through the wall of code that traps him.

But he can only watch as the frost continues to creep across his skin.

“It- it hurts.” Kai chokes out, trembling heavily. 

“It won’t for much longer.” Z̴̥̰͍̍a̸̧̺̮̠̎̍͘͝n̴̖̣͊͆̇̏̚ḙ̸̪̘̬̽̎ assures with a comforting smile.

No! This  **_can’t_ ** happen, he  **_refuses_ ** to be the cause of his boyfriend’s death!

Forming a new strategy for his hacking, he realizes that in order to win this battle, he needs to be willing to lose a little.

If he twists the code just so, he might be able to create a short gap that will allow him just enough time to help Kai. But doing so would, immediately after, lock him out even more.

Steeling himself, he prepares himself for what he’s about to do.

“Don’t listen- hacked. Run.  **_Stop me._ ** ” He begs, using every programming trick he knows to keep himself free enough to speak the words. But just like he was expecting, he’s quickly locked back down- and stronger this time.

That trick won’t work again.

Kai’s eyes go wide, and he lurches back, the ice coating his skin crackling as it breaks from the movement. Fires light in his hands, and Z̷̧̀á̷̱̘n̶͓̼͇̪̲̅e̶͓̍̊̎ takes a step back. 

His boyfriend is clearly suffering the effects of the early stages of hypothermia, his skin stained red from the cold- likely a very painful feeling.

“Hacked?” Kai stares. “That- you were  **_hacked_ ** ?! How is that even possible?!” 

Why is he still not running?! He needs to find the others and explain the situation, why is he just standing there?!

Two hatches open up, and Ẓ̷̭͓̜̝̓̽̅a̵̢͔͖͂͛͛̎n̴̙͆̆̒̓̂ḝ̷̬͔̻̇ draws a pair of shurikens. Kai tenses, and his fires burn brighter, the frost beginning to melt away. 

“Surrender, and I’ll make it painless.” Z̵̪̒á̶͉̂̈́ṋ̴̂́̕e̴̜̓̿͝ promises.

Kai glares. “Let him go!” He demands.

“Your orders mean nothing to me.” Z̶̢̅́̋ą̷͖̈́n̴͖͊͗͌ḛ̵̻̘̠̎͗ replies. “This body is mine, and I choose what to use it for.”

A sudden thought strikes Zane, and a sinking feeling settles in his gut.

_ ‘You aren’t just a program. You’re alive, like me.’ _

The code that imprisons him is altered ever so slightly- not weakened, but a sign of acknowledgement.

“Give me my boyfriend back!” Kai insists, fires heating up.

“You won’t hurt me.” Z̵̖̫͈̞̠͆̾̾ḁ̵̙͈̿̓̋͂ṉ̷̲̍e̸͔̥̠̫͆̀̂ walks closer. “I’m in his body. Anything you do will hurt him just as much.”

Kai opens his mouth to respond, but Ẕ̸͍̩̽ả̸̭̲͉n̴̢͙͊̿̆é̸̙̮͎̇̂ throws a shurkien, and he’s forced to dodge in order to avoid getting his head split open.

“Zane, I know you’re still in there. Fight this!”

_ ‘What do you think I’ve been doing?!’ _

Z̶̫̏͠à̵̧̱̃ͅn̸̬̉̀e̴̟̲̪̍͝ runs at him, and Kai backs off, going on the defensive. 

Unfortunately, his boyfriend didn’t bring a sword- which Zane internally yells at him for. Why would he not bring a weapon?!

In the end, it doesn’t matter. Kai uses airjitzu to reach a rooftop, and before Z̸̯͑̑̇a̷̪͌̅͠n̶̳̜̕ḙ̶͛̃͠ can follow, throws a bunch of shingles at him.

“I’ll come back for you!” He promises, voice tight with emotion. 

Z̸̗̓̅a̴͎̙̐n̵̝̪͖̊͝͝ė̷̡̺͋́͜ tries to follow, but Zane causes a ruckus inside of his head, doing everything possible to cause chaos and slow him down.

By the time Z̶̲͇͎͑͌͒a̶̱͉̅n̶̠̐͐ͅe̵̮͒̓̕ reaches the rooftop, Kai is long gone.

He can feel the anger coming from Z̵͇͉̦̀ậ̵̜n̶̬̍̓͑e̶̡̯͐̔ , and he internally cringes at its intensity. 

“You’ll regret that.” Z̷͔̩̄ă̶̭̝͠n̶͕̍͆é̴̢̨͈̽ threatens. “When they die, I’ll make it  **_hurt_ ** .”


	3. A Waiting Game

Though Zane has multiple times attempted to learn the real name of the program that has him trapped, Z̸̰̜̦͊̃̚ä̷̯͖͐͝ṅ̸̹̒͠e̴͙̜̮͗ refuses to supply it.

He watches helplessly as the sentient program goes into the Bounty’s interface to learn of its location. 

Zane tries to reason with him.  _ ‘Why are you taking orders from The Mechanic? You have free will, you can make your own decisions!’ _

“I’m not taking orders. We’re working together.” 

_ ‘Why? Why do you want to hurt us? The Mechanic I can understand, but if you have free will, why use it to harm others?’ _

Z̴̘͍̬͚̃͂͗a̵̡̳͎͐̑ǹ̴̡̧̯̙̮̃è̵̺͚̯̗̤ pauses a moment, and Zane waits in horror as he realizes that he’s digging through his memory file. 

_ ‘Stop! My personal life has nothing to do with you!’ _

Much to his relief, Z̶̠̅a̷̡̫̬͂̀͝n̴͈͐͌̾é̷͖͜ does stop, and resumes on his way to the Bounty.

Fear curls in his gut. Zane would rather be disassembled than hurt his friends.

But that’s not up to him.

**_Nothing_ ** is up to him.

{ { { { { { { { { {~} } } } } } } } } }

The others stare at him in shock. “What do you mean ‘Zane’s been hacked’?!” Jay demands. 

“I mean that he’s been hacked! He’s got bright red eyes and he tried to kill me! What’s so hard to understand?!” Kai snaps. 

“He’s  **_Zane_ ** , his system is way too complex for that!” Nya argues. 

Kai groans, hand a hand down his face. “Look, I don’t know who did it or how it happened, but he’s been hacked. We need to find a way to fix him!”

Cole opens his mouth to say something, but a new voice speaks up from the entryway to the bridge.

“I don’t need to be fixed.” The hacked version of his boyfriend gives a sharp smile- nothing like the kind of smile the  **_real_ ** Zane would give.

Everyone turns to face him, Lloyd and Kai palming their weapons, but it’s too late. 

Ice explodes across the room, turning the whole area into a frosty den, freezing over everything- including the ships controls.

A shuriken is thrown across the room, but due to the sudden frost, there’s too much shock for anyone to react.

Which is why it buries itself deep into Nya’s shoulder.

“ **_NYA_ ** !” Kai shouts, running over to his sister. He hears the commotion of the others resisting Zane, but all he can see is the bloody mess in front of him.

She’s struggling back to her feet, and Kai stares in shock and horror at the deep injury. It must be  **_extremely_ ** painful. Blood is everywhere, dripping down her and onto the floor, and-

“Stop Zane!” She demands, a hand coming up to clench at the wound. “I’ll be fine!”

Kai shakes his head. “I’m not leaving you!” There’s so much blood, it spills all over her body from the large, gaping wound. 

With a quiet curse, he tries to think of what medical skills he knows. You have to clean the injury, right? So- does he take out the blade?

That… doesn’t sound right, but then again, nothing he’s thinking of does, so he might as well give it a shot.

“Hold on.” He grips the shuriken, and yanks it out of her shoulder. 

Blood goes flying, and starts outright  **_gushing_ ** from the wound, splattering all over the icy floor and walls and even Kai.

“ **_Shit_ ** , okay, that was a bad move.” He mumbles to himself. 

The crimson liquid paints a deathly picture on the ground, and Kai feels himself begin to shake. Okay, okay, he can fix this, he just needs to remember  **_how_ ** -

Nya curses weakly. “Kai…” Her breathing is shallow, and she’s fallen back down to the ground. “Cauterize it.” 

“I-  **_what_ ** ? Nya, I don’t know what that means!” His own breathing has picked up, and while he’s dimly aware of the fight that’s still going on, its the furthest thing from his mind.

“Burn it.” She explains.

“I’m sorry, you want me to light you on fire?! Wha-” 

“Its a medical technique, stop the bleeding.” It’s clear that she’s barely conscious at this point, and despite his shaking, Kai realizes that his best chance is to listen to her.

He swallows, and lights his hand ablaze. He takes a deep breath in, steeling himself for what he’s about to do.

“I’mma scream. Don’t stop.” Nya adds.

“Alright.” Kai nods, doing his best to keep from shaking. 

And then he presses his flaming hand against her shoulder.

{ { { { { { { { { {~} } } } } } } } } }

Zane fights with everything he has, but Ẕ̸͓̣̚ą̸̣͐͑͗ņ̸͚̪͒̂ȩ̶̢̉͆͝ fights just as hard- against both him and the other ninja. It took everything he had to make the throwing star miss Nya’s skull, and he’s exhausted from the effort.

“Zane, buddy, I know you’re in there. Snap out of it!” Cole pleads, using a blast of earth to deflect a thrown icicle. 

“He can hear you. He gets a front row seat to your demise.” Ẑ̸̺̻a̵̢̘̎̃n̶̠̞̊e̵̮͌ replies, sending a solid block of ice at Jay’s face, and the Lightning Master is immediately knocked out from the impact.

Both of them tense and glance backwards as Nya starts screaming, but it only gives Z̸̡̓ȧ̶͚n̶̼͌̎ẹ̵̯͒͒ an opportunity to attack. With spinjitzu, he quickly throws Cole across the room before he has the chance to turn back around.

Which leaves him and Lloyd.

But before the fight can resume, a pop-up appears in his vision. His warning sensors are detecting Samurai X approaching.

Much to Zane’s relief, Z̸̗̓̅a̴͎̙̐n̵̝̪͖̊͝͝ė̷̡̺͋́͜ decides that this is a good enough reason to retreat. “I’ll be taking my leave.” He decides. “But not without a  **_parting gift._ ** ”

Lloyd rushes to stop him, but he’s too late. Z̵̦̩̖͛̾̓a̶͔̯͗͂́̾n̴͈͙͇͘͜e̵̡̛͗ throws a set of exploding shurkiens into the control panel before quickly running out.

A loud explosion goes off behind him, and the ship begins listing, tilting to the side, causing everyone on board to stagger- all except for Ź̶͓̖́a̸̼̥͍͂̓n̵͓͇̩͂͝ę̵͈̔͑̂ , who predicts each movement and keeps himself steady.

Zane is exhausted from all of this, and he decides to bide his time. If he attacks every chance he gets, he'll only get worn down. He needs to be strategic about this. 

So he stops resisting, and lets Z̶̻̭̅́a̸̧̢͔͑̎̇̌͜n̸̪̿̎ḙ̷̖͖͌ take over completely. He can use this time to study the code that’s restricting him so that he’ll be able to better resist when he needs it most.

So Zane stays there, a passenger in his own body, as Z̵̧̥̦̦̀͋̄a̶̪̖͖̒͊̈ͅn̵̢͊e̸̠̜͆͛ jumps off the ship, summoning his ice dragon.

He just needs to bide his time. It’ll be okay- his friends will stop him. 

With an internal wince, he recalls what he had done to Nya.

Doubts start to assail him, but he does his best to push them away. He can’t give up hope. 

He just needs to bide his time- he’ll get his chance.

He has to hope that he’ll get that chance before it’s too late.


	4. Vivid Threats

Kai curses as the Bounty lists off to the side. If something doesn’t change soon, the ship’s going to capsize!

But the only two people who actually know how the ship works can’t help- both Jay and Nya are out cold.

Lloyd is desperately trying to handle the damaged controls, but it’s clear that he doesn’t know what he’s doing. In fairness, Kai doesn’t know how to work the ship all that well either- at least, not when it’s like this. Sure, he can start it up and steer her around, but not when it’s falling out of the sky with barely intact controls and fifty alarms blaring.

“We need to abandon ship!” Cole shouts, yelling in order to be heard over the rushing wind and screeching warning alarms.

“Cole, take Jay! Kai, get Nya! We’ll regroup- uh. We’ll regroup at-“

“You can regroup at my base.” Samurai X stands in the doorway, their exo-suit flying along outside. “I can take Nya- she needs immediate medical care, and I can go faster than one of your dragons.”

Lloyd nods, and Cole runs over to Jay, carrying him out of the bridge before jumping off and summoning his earth dragon.

Kai tries to ignore the fear surrounding him as he worries about Zane and Nya, reassuring himself that they’ll both be fine. He’s not afraid of the circumstances, he’s afraid of what’s inside, and he can face that fear and summon his dragon.

Determined, he runs out onto the deck and jumps off, trying to create his fire dragon.

But the fear running through his veins is too much, and the dragon doesn’t appear. 

Cursing, he continues trying, but with every second that passes, it seems less and less likely that he’ll be able to pull it off.

No, he’s not afraid, he can do this. He can-

Lloyd’s energy dragon swoops under him, and his honorary brother lets him land on it, able to cling to him from behind.

“It’s okay.” He assures. “They’ll both be okay.”

Kai feels himself grip his brother tighter. How pathetic is he? He can’t help Zane, he can’t protect Nya, he can’t even summon his dragon. 

Maybe if he were better, this wouldn’t have happened. If he had been able to stop them from taking Zane. If he was a better ninja, he would’ve been able to prevent this entirely. 

But he’s not, and he didn’t. Meaning everything that’s happened…

It’s all  **_his fault._ **

{ { { { { { { { { {~} } } } } } } } } }

Z̴͖̫͜͝ä̸̬́̓͌n̷̝̈́e̵̢͕̎ continues on his way, ice dragon somehow listening to his commands despite the way that the real Zane isn’t in control.

It’s annoying, to say the least.

He does his best to keep from thinking about what Ẓ̷̹̦͒̾́a̴̳͋̑n̸̼̬̎̄ͅȇ̴̞͠ has made him do. Wallowing in self-pity won’t help anyone. 

The dragon glides in a direction Zane begins to recognize.

_ ‘Borg Tower? Why are we going there?’ _

“They have state of the art technology. I plan to pick up a few gadgets- for both myself and The Mechanic.”

If Zane had control of his facial plate, he would’ve frowned. 

_ ‘Why are you loyal to him? You have me, what use is he to you?’ _

“I owe him my life.” Ž̶̭͜ą̵̨̇͒͘n̸͓͋e̴̜̮͎̒̅̕ replies.

He doesn’t elaborate. 

Zane begins to ask about it, but he feels the code around him lock up even more from the tension Z̶̡̡̠͌͗͗ą̷̣̫̊͊n̴͖͑̓̽ę̶̼͂͒̚ emits, so he stays quiet.

He’ll get his chance.   


* * *

When Z̵̜̾à̷̧͘n̶̻̭͝e̴̳͆̒ arrives at Borg Industries, he goes to the roof- the piece of the roof just below the hollow hexagon on top. The dragon vanishes under him, and he lands peacefully. But a troubling thought strikes Zane.

_ ‘How do you intend to get your hands on gadgets?’ _

Z̷̡̹̽̓a̸̪̬̔̋n̵̬̽̏e̷͙͑ sits down. “I rather thought I might hack into the system.”

_ ‘You do an awful lot of hacking.’ _

“I do. Now stop talking so I can concentrate.” Ź̶ͅä̴̪̥́̓n̷̺̺̾e̷̻̯͒̅ demands.

_ ‘And why would I do what you tell me to?’ _

“Because I can always drag out the killing. Force the others to watch as their teammates are slowly tortured to death, one by one. You know, I think I’d leave Kai for last. Judging by your memories, he doesn’t like water all that much. Waterboarding might-”

_ ‘You’ve made your point.’ _

Zane is  **_seething_ ** , but he knows that he should limit his resistance. He needs to pick his battles- and just collecting some gadgets isn’t too high on his priority list.

And the thought of a soaked, injured, barely breathing Kai is enough to make him draw back- for now, at least.

So he remains quiet as Z̴̝̃͐a̴̮͓̍n̴͔̏e̷̢̎̿ hacks into Borg’s system, not resisting in the slightest as his body is used to collect laser guns, important hard-drives, power sources, and all kinds of dangerous things.

_ ‘You will be stopped- I’ll make sure of it.’ _

Z̵̡̊̎a̴͖̥͑̑ṅ̶͙̱̂e̶̘̓̂ doesn’t dignify his declaration with a verbal response.

Instead, he bombards him with mental images of his teammates- of his  **_family_ ** \- dead, horribly injured, and dying.

No matter how hard he tries, he can’t block them out- he can’t stop what's coming from  **_inside_ ** his head.

_ ‘Stop.’ _

Z̴̛̙̲͒ặ̵͔͝n̴̺̒e̸̛͎͎͛ doesn’t reply.

_ ‘Stop it!’ _

Z̶̭̫͌ā̶͕͉n̷͇̈́e̴̮̺̕͝ doesn’t answer.

The images keep coming- Nya with her throat slit as the blood from the wound pours down her bruised flesh. 

_ ‘You’ve made your point! Stop it!’ _

Cole’s body covered in frost, blue lips and horrible frostbite. 

_ ‘Please, don’t do this! I don’t want to see them like this, PLEASE-’ _

Jay as a bruised and broken mess, staring at Zane as the light slowly leaves his eyes. 

_ ‘Cut it out! No more! Don’t-’ _

Lloyd’s arm torn off and the bones inside shoved into his chest to puncture his lungs. 

_ ‘No. No, no, no, NO! I- I don’t want to hurt them, please-’ _

Kai, dripping wet, covered in horrible bloody slashes, tears welling in his eyes as he desperately pleads for him to stop.

If Zane had control of his body, he’d be crying. As it is, he can’t process what’s going on around him, and while he’s aware that Z̸͖̃̕a̶̦͐̉n̵͉̾̔è̴͕̆ is moving, he can’t see anything but what he’s being shown.

_ ‘Please. No more.’ _

Finally, he stops, the images fading. But they felt so real, and Zane knows that he’s never going to be able to burn them out of his head.

“Don’t test me.” Z̷̩̃ͅä̸̜̠́n̸͔̫̆é̸̝ warns quietly. “I can  **_always_ ** make things worse.”

Zane doesn’t reply.

What is there to say?


	5. For Zane?

Kai wordlessly walks into the Samurai X cave, following Lloyd and Cole. He can’t seem to drag his thoughts away from Zane and Nya.

The image of the shuriken embedded in her shoulder is burned into his mind, as well as the blood that poured from the injury.

The feeling of the frost that was so cold it stung slowly creeping across his skin, and him just letting it happen because its  **_Zane_ ** , his boyfriend, and he would never do anything to hurt him.

But Zane’s not there. Well, he is- he’s broken free enough to speak. He’s just not in the pilots seat. 

He must be terrified. Alone, unable to do anything but watch as his body does things without his consent. 

Kai’s drawn back to the real world by a hand waving in front of his face.

“Hey, you still in there?” Cole questions softly, bringing his arm back so he can better hold Jay. 

Kai nods. “Yeah, I’m here.” He quietly confirms. 

“It’s going to be okay.” The earth master promises. “We’ll figure this out. I-”

He’s cut off by the lightning master in his arms groaning and blinking a few times. “Wha goin’ uhn?” He slurs.

Kai and Cole exchange a glance. How hard was he hit? 

“You got knocked out. We’re taking you to the Samurai X cave so we can get you patched up.” Lloyd explains, picking up the pace. 

They reach the entrance, and thankfully the successor to Nya kept the same passcode, because they’re granted entry when Lloyd types it in.

The four of them head inside, and make it to the main docking area with screens and the main X mech.

Samurai X is tending to Nya at a makeshift bed that looks like it’s probably a table. They glance up when the four ninja enter the room. 

“Hold him for a minute, we’ll have more set up soon.” 

“...  **_we’ll_ ** ?” Lloyd questions, narrowing his eyes. “There’s someone else here?”

An uncomfortably familiar face walks in, carrying a table similar to the one Nya’s one into the room. It takes Kai a second to recognize him- this is the first time he’s seen him without a mask.

“ **_Cryptor_ ** ?!” Cole demands, and the two ninja capable who aren’t injured or holding someone who is step into fighting stances.

Cryptor sets the table down and adjusts the blanket on top of it. “Set him down here, I’ll get more medical supplies.” He walks off, not even acknowledging the way the others were prepared to throw down.

“He’s with me.” Samurai X tells them, wrapping up Nya’s wound with gauze.

“He works for Pythor and the Overlord!” Kai snaps. “We don’t have time to worry about him, we need to save Zane!”

X looks up just long enough to glare. “Cryptor works for no one. His code had prevented him from using his free will- code which has since been removed.”

Though he’s clearly reluctant, Cole walks over and gently lays Jay down on the table, the blue ninja clearly still out of it. 

“Wuh fughtin’ th’ Ov’lord?” He slurs. “Isn’ ‘e guhn? Zuhn ki’d ‘im. Righ’?” 

The Samurai looks over. “How long was he out for?” They demand.

“The whole ride over.” Cole doesn’t take his eyes off of Jay, clearly concerned about him.

Cryptor walks back into the room, carrying medical supplies.

Kai doesn’t acknowledge him. “He tried to kill us!” He reminds. “We don’t have time for-“

“Lloyd tried to kill you, way back when he released the Serpentine.” Cryptor sets the supplies down and checks Jay’s pulse. 

Lloyd makes a sputtering noise. “That- I, um-“ He seems to be at a loss for words, unsure of how to defend himself. 

Cryptor ignores him and looks up at Cole. “How were you carrying him? Was his neck held in place?”

“N- no. I was using bridal style.” Cole is clearly uneasy.

“Lloyd’s circumstances were different!” Kai snaps, anger burning beneath his skin. He actually notices smoke coming off of him, but he ignores it. “He was-“

“He’s our best chance at saving Zane.” Samurai X cuts him off, not even looking at him in favor of caring for Nya.

Kai freezes. 

A million thoughts race through his head, and he hates every single one of them.  **_Cryptor_ ** , the evil nindroid general, is their best chance at saving Zane?

He hates this. He hates this so much.

“So, Kai. Are you willing to work with me?” Cryptor sounds annoyed that he has to ask the question.

Kai swallows.

“For Zane? Anything.”


	6. Zane Doesn't Resist

Z̸̼͇̘̍à̵͚n̸̢̽̀͜e̸̢̞͍͒ sends a message that he blocks Zane from seeing, and drops off most of the technology at the warehouse, choosing only to keep a single laser gun.

Zane doesn’t resist.

A video feed pops up. The Destiny’s Bounty, crashed and in pieces just outside of Ninjago City. Luckily, the footage shows several elemental dragons flying away from it before it hit the ground.

Z̸͔̲̆̒͌a̶̛͔͜n̵̙̄͊̈́ȅ̶̗̱͛͋ slings the laser gun over his back and starts navigating the dark alleys of the city, dismissing the video feed in order to better focus on what he’s doing. 

He walks further into the seedy underbelly of the city. Zane feels like this place is vaguely familiar, but he’s not paying much attention to what Ẓ̴̨͔̈ȧ̷̝͕͉͋̈́ņ̴͖̹̌ȅ̸͘͝ͅ is doing with his body.

He’s just saving his strength. He’ll be able to fight back later.

Or at least, that’s what he’s telling himself.

Z̵̮̟͔͌̋a̴͓̮̟̕͠ṉ̷̞̝̚ẹ̵͒ͅ heads into a shop. The door is locked, but he opens it anyway, using sheer brute force to slam it out of his way.

Zane doesn’t resist.

Ronin stands there, looking surprised. “Zane? I- I have an alibi-“

Z̵͕̬̣̈̀a̴̛̙n̵͕̝̖͛̄̅e̴̡̟̾ doesn’t pause, he just goes right up to Ronin and slams him against the wall. “I am not here to talk.”

The thief chuckles nervously. “Zane, wh-“

“I’m not Zane.” Z̸͇̾̚ä̵̲̣́n̸̮̠̯̾ė̶̾ͅ narrows his eyes, pressing the man further against the wall. “Where is it?”

“Where is what?” Ronin seems uncomfortable and even somewhat fearful.

“The core.  **_Where is it?_ ** ” Z̴͔͆a̴̦̓̇͝n̷͙̰̋̑͜͝ȇ̷̯̜̣͐̕ snarls, tightening his grip to the point where Ronin cries out in pain.

“I- I don’t know what you’re talking ab-“

Frost starts to creep its way over him, faster than it did with Kai. Within seconds, he’s nearly completely covered from the neck down.

Z̴̻̓a̵̧͌̏͌n̸̖̐͐͜è̵̡͔ leans in. “I’d choose my next words very carefully if I were you.”

“I- I sold it a few years back!” The thief admits, clearly panicked. “I didn’t-“

“If the next words out of your mouth aren’t a location, I can promise you that you’ll wish I had just let you freeze here and now.” Z̷̤̺͈̒a̸͍͛n̴̘̚e̵̻̔̐̈́ threatens.

There’s a brief pause before Ronin caves. “It’s- it’s in the back. I’ll go get it-“

“I can find it myself.” Z̸̨̛̬͑ȃ̷̦̈́n̵͖͇͑͐͠ę̷̥͊ realeses the thief and takes a step back. “If you lied to me, I will personally see to your demise.”

He walks into the back of the shop and does a scan, clearly searching for ‘the core’.”

Z̴͖̻̲̎̋̂a̶̬͇̘̓n̷̞̂̆͜ȅ̵͖̯̈́͠ seems to find what he was looking for, and reaches out to grab-

Zane’s original power source. The one he had split in two to share with Pixal. Somehow, here it is, entirely whole.

Z̴̭̾ä̸̯̦͖n̵̫̖͍̔͒̃e̸͓̎͂ picks it up and pockets it, passing by a shivering Ronin as he walks out.

Zane doesn’t resist.

He walks back to the warehouse, sending another message that Zane can’t see on the way.

Placing the power source on top of the other supplies, Z̷̡̻̖͒͘̕ä̴̧n̴͚̣̓͆͗͜è̷̱ pauses a moment.

“You’re awfully quiet.” He comments as he walks out into the street. His footsteps echo against the paved cobblestone that forms the back-end street.

“I rather like you like this.” He decides. “You’ve finally learned your place.”

He continues walking for a moment, but then pauses. 

“I think I’ll show your flame mercy.” 

And with that, he resumes walking down the street, taking Zane’s body to wherever he wills it.

Zane doesn’t resist.


	7. Cryptor’s Pep Talk

It’s been almost a week and a half since they’ve last seen Zane. There’ve been sightings of him around the city, but by the time they get there, he’s already gone.

Kai knows that he’s not skilled enough in technology to do anything to help with the search and that trying would only make it harder.

So he throws  **_everything_ ** into his training. He gets up every morning before the sun comes up and trains all day, eating only when Lloyd or Nya- who had woken up a day after the attack- forces him to.

He doesn’t go to bed until long after dark. His muscles are sore beyond belief. When he looks in the mirror, he can see the dark circles under his eyes. 

But he doesn’t stop. He  **_can’t_ ** stop. He needs to do  **_something_ ** . If he stops, he has to listen to his thoughts. He has to think about how powerless he is. He has to think about how terrified Zane must be, alone, hurting people no matter how much he struggles against it, he has to think about how if he had just  **_realized_ ** maybe he could’ve stopped him, could’ve  **_saved_ ** him-

Kai shakes his head, trying to dispel the thoughts as he attacks the sparring robot with everything he has. A punch left. A punch right. Duck. Uppercut. Jump back. Do spinjitzu. Jumping side kick.  **_Light the damn thing on fire with all of the rage and frustration boiling inside of him-_ **

The robot whirrs and shuts down, pieces of it melting as it falls apart under the extreme heat. 

Kai doesn’t stop the flames until the entire thing is just a melted wreck on the floor.

Panting, he stops, bending over to rest his hands on his knees.

“You need to take a break.” 

Kai whips around to see one of the last people he wants to encounter.

**_Cryptor_ ** .

Kai narrows his eyes. “Fuck off.” He growls, still trying to catch his breath. “I don’t need your shitty opinion.” 

“You’re going to kill yourself with exhaustion- and that’s assuming that you aren’t so damn tired that  **_Zane_ ** isn’t the one to kill you.” Cryptor comments, walking closer. He looks over at the melted sparring bot with an expression that Kai can’t quite read, but hopes is fear.

“I said fuck off!” He snaps. 

“And  **_I_ ** said that you need to take a break.” Cryptor doesn’t back down, making direct eye contact with the seething Master of Fire.

Rage continues to boil inside of him. “Don’t tell me what to do. I’m  **_fine_ ** . So why don’t you go fuck yourself and leave me the fuck alo-“

“Is this what Zane would want?”

Kai freezes. A tense moment passes.

“Sorry,  **_what_ ** ?”

“Is this what Zane would want?” Cryptor repeats, walking until they’re only about two feet apart. “You working yourself to death? Practically starving yourself? Would he really want you to-“

“It doesn’t matter what he would want, because he’s not here! He’s fucking  **_gone_ ** !” Kai fights to keep tears from falling. “And we might not ever get him back!” 

Because that’s why he’s doing this. Because he can’t think about that possibility. He can’t think about what his life would be like without Zane. He  **_refuses_ ** to imagine a life without him.

Cryptor sighs. “We’re going to get him back.”

“And how do you know that?! How can you be so calm?! Oh, right! You don’t care! You don’t  **_feel things_ ** like he does, you were  **_created to destroy_ ** , you’re not even fucking  **_alive_ ** -“

Cryptor covers the space between them in a heartbeat, running into him hard enough that he pushes him against a wall- a wall that was previously a few meters away. 

The nindroid gets in his face. “Look. Personally, I couldn’t care less if you get yourself killed. But as of right now, we need you.  **_Zane_ ** needs you. At least  **_try_ ** to hold yourself together. Lloyd is trying to do everything himself. He could use you at his side.” 

Cryptor leans in even more. “And you know full well that training, insulting me, whatever you’re doing now… none of it will fill the hole in your chest.” 

And with that, the nindroid releases him.

Kai just stands there as he walks away, his eyes wide and his breathing heavy. A million thoughts race through his head, but he can’t focus on any of them long enough to figure out what he’s feeling.

Kai takes a deep breath, his whole body trembling.

And with that, he walks out of the training room.

It’s time to actually  **_do something_ ** about this.


	8. Who Are You?

Zane watches as his body takes him down the dark streets. It’s been almost three weeks since he’s seen his friends, and he can’t help but feel relieved by the fact. If he stays away, he can’t hurt them.

But all good things come to an end- including his good luck.

As he turns the corner, he finds himself face to face with the last person he wants to see.

Kai.

Ż̴͍̜̈́̕ạ̶̢̍̍ͅn̶̨̘̂͘ẽ̴̡̟̲͋ doesn’t hesitate. Ice explodes across the alley before the fire ninja has likely even realized whats going on.

Kai stumbles back, but quickly regains his footing, fires lighting in his palms. 

Determination shines in his eyes, and Zane starts to allow himself to feel hope. Maybe this time he’ll be stopped. Maybe they’ll be able to protect themselves from him. Maybe-

That hope goes out the window when an icy blast sends his boyfriend sprawling back. 

Zane starts to resist, but Ż̶̥̮̂ȧ̷̰ň̵̨̝̝̍̚e̴̮̎̽ speaks up before he can make very much progress.

“I said I would show him mercy if you stayed like this. I’m a man of my word.” 

Kai struggles to his feet, clearly too far away to hear the quiet words just spoken. “Fight it, Zane! I know you’re in there somewhere, fight back! We- we’ve got a plan, we’re going to save you, I promise! I promise we’ll save you. But-“

Z̸̡̬̰̓͝a̴̳̿̽ṇ̸͒̋̕ḛ̴͍̆͂̕ lowers the tempature of the alley, and Kai, who was already clearly cold, starts to shiver near uncontrollably. 

“ **_Please_ ** , Zane. I know you’re still in there!”

There’s a pause, and Z̵̝͙̓ą̵̪͕̿̓̏ń̷̤͋̇ē̸̮͐̽ tilts his head. Zane winces as he realizes that he’s going through his memories.

But he lets him, not fighting back.

He’s just biding his time, that’s all it is. Just biding his time until he has the chance to strike.

“Stand down, Kai. I won’t hurt you.” Z̸̯̩͐a̷̖͉͋ṉ̵̬̗͂̽̃ȅ̸̘̗̮ assures. 

“You expect me to believe that?! And even if it were true, I want my boyfriend back! So-“

The frost around them starts to melt, Z̵̻̅͋͗a̷̹͝ņ̶̩̙͋ē̵͚̖̚ speeding up the progress that the fire was making. 

“I have no quarrel with you. As a matter of fact, I don’t have one with Zane, either. I’m just using him for now. And even though my partner hates you ninja, I could talk him into only hurting one of you.” Z̶̛̥̆̈́ä̶̯̹́̒̏̀n̵̨͔̔̃ê̶̫̇̂̀ tilts his head. “And I already know which one it would be.”

“You’re out of your mind if you think I’m going to let you hurt  **_any_ ** of my friends!” Kai snarls, fires burning brighter.

Z̴̡̍ḁ̴̉ǹ̶̬e̶̪͠ sighs, but doesn’t make any move to attack Kai. “Your determination is admirable. But one way or another, I will get what I want. The only real question is how much destruction I’ll have to cause to get it.”

Kai takes a step forward, but Z̶̪͠ȁ̴͚n̶̼̓ȩ̷̏ decides to retreat, running off into the shadows. The fire ninja tries to follow him, but Zane knows that he won’t be able to.

He still doesn’t resist when taken away, back into the dark part of the city. 

After a few hours of walking, Z̶̟͐a̸͉̽ń̶̫ë̶͓́ stops, resting on a rooftop- one without any security cameras nearby.

There’s a long pause, and Zane wonders what his captor is thinking about. He-

“He really cares about you.” Z̵͉̅à̴̡ǹ̷̜e̷͓̓ comments quietly. “And from what I can tell, the rest of them do, too.”

_ ‘Of course they care about me. They’re my family.’ _

Z̸̙̚ả̸̤n̸͎̍ȅ̴̬ laughs dryly. “My family could care less about me.” He admits.

A touch of hope lights inside of him. Maybe he can find out more about him!

_ ‘If that’s true, are they really your family? _ ’

Z̸̦͝ä̴͕ṉ̷̇e̴̟̽ pauses for a few moments before he speaks. “No,” he decides, “I don’t think he is.”

_ ‘He?’ _

“The rest of my family is dead. It’s just my brother and I.” Z̴̭̾ä̸̯̦͖n̵̫̖͍̔͒̃e̸͓̎͂ explains. He sounds somewhat pained by this.

_ ‘You’re a program, like me. How can you have a brother?’ _

“We had the same creator, and I based off of his design. But I don’t think he knows all that much about me. The Mechanic is one of the only ones who knows who I am.” His voice is quiet, remorseful.

_ ‘So tell me, then. Who are you?’ _

Z̶͑͜ä̸̤́n̷̛̳e̶̩͆ pauses again, clearly hesitant to answer. But after a few moments, he speaks.

“Echo.” He whispers, voice trembling.

“My name is Echo.”


	9. He Lied

After the talk they shared, Z̷̬̬̄̈́a̷̦̔n̶̜̄͌ě̷̟͝— or rather, Echo- has been easier to interact with. No more threats or images. Once he even listened to Zane and ran Cole from rather than fighting him.

And they talk more often, now. Not about big things like that conversation, but about random details of their lives- though Echo doesn’t seem to have many things to share.

“I’ve always loved looking at the sky.” Echo comments idly as they walk. “Something about it just seems to say that everything is going to be okay.”

_‘Do you prefer day or night? I’ve always been fond of the latter- I love looking at the stars.’_

“Dawn. It’s symbolic to me. The start of a new day, a day that might be better than the one before.” He pauses for a minute before he continues in a sad tone. “... but it took a long time before that was true.”

Zane starts to question what he means, but Echo speaks up before he can. “Just another month until it’s ready.” He smiles, clearly excited about whatever he’s referring to. Is it related to the hidden messages he’s been sending?

_‘Until what’s ready?’_

Echo pauses for a few moments. “I’d rather not share that.” He decides.

Zane doesn’t push it. He’s started to form a tentative friendship with Echo, and he doesn’t want to risk it. If he’s able to get a more stable connection, he’ll be able to better protect his teammates.

There’s a pause between them, and after about a minute of it, Echo stops walking and leans against a wall. “I told you I’d show them mercy… but I don’t know if I can.”

If Zane had control over his body, he’s sure some of his gears would’ve locked up. 

_‘What?’_

He sighs. “I have nothing against most of them. If I really wanted, I might be able to convince The Mechanic that just keeping you would hurt them enough.”

Zane anxiously waits for him to continue.

“I’m not going to hurt Kai. I don’t have any reason to hate him.” Echo assures. “And both Lloyd and Cole don’t know what happened either. Nya… I suppose I could let her go. I hate her, but I guess I could show her mercy.”

“But Jay… he needs to be **_hurt_ **. Hurt the same way he was when we met.”

When they met? Jay has already met Echo? Why wouldn’t he have mentioned him?

“I’m going to tear his eye out.” Echo decides, and Zane’s stomach churns with how easily and peacefully he says it.

“But he lasted for two months before, even when he was starting to believe that no one was coming for him.” Echo pauses for a few beats.

“I think I’ll see if he can go longer- see how long it takes before he snaps.”

Zane scans the code around him. Okay, he’s closer with Echo now, and the code around him has weakened some- he might be able to free himself if it comes to that.

And what does he mean by ‘he lasted two months’? 

Zane shakes that part off, that’s not what he needs to focus on. He needs to focus on protecting Jay.

_‘Why? Why do you hate him? Jay would never do anything to-‘_

“That’s the problem!” Echo snaps, pushing himself off of the wall. “He didn’t do anything! He- he-”

Echo’s voice is a mix of sadness and anger, dripping with contempt for the blue ninja.

“He left me there. He left me alone. He promised I wouldn’t be alone anymore.”

“ **_He lied._ **”

A tense few minutes pass as Echo takes his body onto a nearby rooftop.

“It was The Mechanic who saved me. He was the one who brought me here. All he wanted in exchange was for me to help him get revenge.” 

_‘Echo, I’m sure there’s some kind of misunderstanding here! Jay wouldn’t-‘_

“I’m not going to kill him.” Echo interrupts. The words are a relief until he continues speaking.

“I’m going to make him **_wish_ ** he was dead.”

A dark, grim smile spreads across his face.

“ **_I’m going to make him want to wish it all away._ **”


	10. Much, Much Worse

Kai sits beside Jay, who rapidly types into a computer as he tries to figure out how to remove the code from Zane’s system.

“It’s really weird.” Kai comments. “The hacked version of him talks like he’s not Zane.”

Jay frowns, not looking away from the computer. “What do you mean?”

“He’s talking like he’s his own person. Like he’s not just being controlled by a hacking program.”

Jay tenses up, turning to face him. “Are you telling me that Zane’s been hacked by another nindroid?”

Kai blinks. “Uh… is that possible?”

Jay stares at him. “What do you mean ‘is that possible’?! Of course it’s possible! This changes everything!” He groans. “I’m going to have to start from scratch! Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?!”

“Because I didn’t know what it meant!” Kai defends himself, though internally he feels the same.  **_Great_ ** , now they've lost valuable time and Zane’s going to be hacked for even longer because of how  **_stupid_ ** Kai is-

Just then, Nya walks into the room. Without even sparing Jay a glance, she walks right up to Kai. “Lloyd needs you.”

Kai immediately gets to his feet. “Where is he?”

“In the back room where we keep the in-progress mechs.” Nya explains.

He nods, and leaves without giving either of them a goodbye. Lloyd needs him, so he’s going to be by his brother’s side.

And sure enough, he finds Lloyd in the back room, staring at a computer screen, typing on the keyboard.

Kai cautiously makes his way over. “Hey.” He greets, sitting down beside him. “What’cha working on?”

“Looking at security cams. I’m trying to figure out where he is.” Lloyd doesn’t look away from the screen. “I think I’m getting closer.” 

“And when was the last time you slept?” Kai prompts, studying the dark eye bags that the blond wears.

“Last night.” If he didn’t look so exhausted, Kai might’ve actually believed that- the kid’s a little too good at lying.

But as it is, he sees right through him. “Uh-huh, and how long did you sleep for?”

“That’s not important.” Lloyd’s eyes are still glued to the screen, pulling up a new tab and typing something in.

Kai sighs, running a hand through his hair. “You need to go to sleep.”

“What  **_I need_ ** is to find Zane.”

Kai doesn’t miss the irony about how he was acting the same way just a week ago. “Lloyd, you’re not going to be able to help anyone if you don’t take care of yourself.”

“Go  **_away_ ** , Kai!” Lloyd snaps, finally looking at him. “I’m getting closer, I know it!”

“Let me take over for a little while.” Kai tries. “I’ll keep looking, and you can take a break.”

The blond hesitates a moment before shaking his head. “No, I can’t stop, I can’t give up on him-“

“No one said that you’re giving up on him.” Kai interjects. “You’re just taking a rest, and I’ll fill in for you. You just need some time-“

“We don’t have time!” Lloyd snaps. “Who knows what’s happening to Zane! Every moment we waste could be the moment that makes a difference!” He goes back to the computer, starting to type again.

Kai sighs. “Lloyd-“

He doesn’t get to finish the sentence, because there’s a loud crash coming from the main section of the base.

The two ninja exchange a glance for a split second before jumping to their feet and running towards the source. There aren’t very many people who know the location of this base, and out of the ones who do, there’s only one who would currently try something like this… 

They turns the corner just in time to see Zane throw Nya across the room and into a wall. “ **_Stay down_ ** .” He snarls. 

Kai starts to run towards him, hands ablaze, but Jay is closer and gets there first.

The blue ninja tries to use spinjitzu, but Zane catches his leg in the air, effectively halting him. 

Kai’s halfway way there when Zane flips him over onto the ground, a sickening cracking noise coming from him. 

Jay screams, a loud, pained screech that probably doesn’t even begin to express how he’s feeling.

By the time Kai reaches where the conflict had happened, Zane had already thrown Jay over his shoulder and fled.

Kai starts to try and race after him, but he has a sinking feeling that he’s not going to be able to catch up in time.

And that feeling is proven right.

{ { { { { { { { { {~} } } } } } } } } }

Echo drags Jay, who is kicking and screaming, to a warehouse. He had managed to convince The Mechanic that just hurting one ninja would hurt all of the others- not to mention how he had taken Zane.

Jay’s terrified face burns its way into Zane’s mind, an image that he’ll never be able to erase. 

Echo manages to get Jay into a vengestone ball and chain- which is odd, because most villains use handcuffs of some sort.

But it seems to panic Jay even more, judging by the panted mantra of the word ‘no’ that he mutters over and over again.

After he’s completely imprisoned, Echo sits back with a cruel smile.

A few minutes pass, the Master of Lightning continuing to desperately struggle. After about fifteen minutes, he finally stops- likely out of energy.

“It’s been a while, Jay.” Echo seems to be enjoying the panic coming from the blue ninja. “Over a year, now.”

Jay looks confused for a moment, but his expression starts to slowly turn to shock as something seems to register.

“Echo?” He whispers. “Is- is that you?”

Echo nods, still with that smile. “So you  **_do_ ** remember me.”

He walks over to a table he had set up previously and picks up a knife. “I waited a long time for you to come back, you know.”

Jay starts to reply, but Echo talks over him. “I don’t want your excuses.” He grips the blade tighter, and Zane starts to struggle.

_ ‘Echo, please, don’t do this, leave him alone, I don’t know what he did, but-‘ _

The other creates a specific line of code that seems to affect his sensors and  **_that hurts, how is he making him hurt without it affecting himself_ ** -

After a few moments, the pain dulls to a throb- just at the point where he can’t do anything, but can still register what’s going on around him.

Echo holds the blade up against Jay’s throat, drawing a thin line of blood. “I’m sure you remember Scrap ‘N Tap, yeah?”

Jay’s horror chills him down to the bone. He seems petrified, unsure of what to do or how to act. Tears have just begun to form in his eyes, but before he gets the chance to speak, Echo leans in, getting in his face.

Their eyes are locked together, and in a dark whisper, Echo promises,“This is going to be much,  **_much_ ** worse.”


	11. Talking Too Much

Jay is a sobbing, bloody mess on the floor by the time Echo stops. He didn’t limit it to the dagger, either- he used so many weapons that Zane stopped counting, and there were times when he dropped them all together and just beat the shit out of him.

He puts all the weapons away, and he erases the line of code, allowing Zane to actually be able to think properly again.

_ ‘You’re a monster.’ _

Zane’s snarled insult is ignored, and Echo goes and grabs… medical supplies? Why-

He sits down beside Jay, forcing him to sit up and lean against the wall. He cries out when he does, voice clearly raw from his previous screaming.

“Please- no- no more.” He begs, voice barely above a whisper. 

“I’m just patching you up. We’re done for now.” Echo assures. “I don’t want you to die or anything.”

Jay looks relieved, but he’s clearly still in intense pain. 

Echo wipes away his tears with a sigh. “Were you this noisy then, too?” He complains, shaking his head.

_ ‘Look, I don’t know what he did, but this is not the answer! You can let him go and find some other solution to-‘ _

“No.” Echo interrupts, starting to clean out some of the bloody gashes he had made. “I need him to  **_hurt_ ** .”

Jay winces as his injuries are tended to. “Are you talking to Zane?” He gets out weakly, something- likely hope- dawning in his eyes at the thought. “Can- can he hear me?”

Echo pauses a moment before answering. “He can, yeah. Nothing he can do about it other than watch, but…” He trails off with a shrug, going back to cleaning out the gashes and starting to apply a salve to some of the worse ones.

The relieved expression on Jay’s face is confusing. Why is he reassured by the fact that his teammate has to watch him get tortured?

“So, Z- Zane-“

“He can’t answer you.” Echo interrupts, seeming satisfied with how he cleaned them and starting to wrap them in gauze.

“He doesn’t have to.” Jay defends himself, still with a tremor in his voice. “I’m used- used to one-sided conversations anyway.”

Zane decides to humor him, replying even if only Echo can hear.

_ ‘That’s because you talk so much no one else can get a word in.’ _

“Anyway, how have- how have you been?” Jay gives a strained smile as Echo starts getting more rough with his treatments, clearly trying to make him shut up.

_ ‘Take a guess. And you don’t look that gr-‘ _

“I’m doing…  **_okay_ ** , I- I guess. Could- could be better. Could be  **_a lot_ ** better, but I’m not- not dead, so there’s that.” 

_ ‘And that’s what I meant about talking too much.’ _

Echo clenches his teeth. “Stop it, both of you- or next time I’ll use a branding iron.” 

Jay falters, eyes widening in fear. “I, uh… okay.” He caves, voice shaking.

_ ‘Leave him alone!’ _

“You know, I can always grab another one of your teammates if you want to keep whining about this one.” Echo threatens.

Zane shuts up.

Echo seems satisfied with this as he finishes wrapping up the gauze. “I dislocated your shoulder, I’m going to have to pop it back in place. On three, okay?”

“I know the- the ‘on three’ trick, you- you lie and do it on tw-  **_SHIT_ ** !” Jay’s comment turns to a cry of pain as Echo pops the joint back into place.

“There we go.”

“Fuck you.” Jay glares, but he’s so weak that it barely has any heat behind it.

Echo starts testing for broken bones, pressing in the skin, which makes Jay wince and cry out. “Mmm… closed greenstick fracture on the arm…” He mutters to himself.

“What does that mean?” Jay seems to have regained some of his strength- likely through sheer willpower and spite.

“It means I broke your arm.” Echo explains. “If I were a doctor, I’d recommend getting the swelling down so I could put it in a cast.” He wraps his hand around the site of the injury and squeezes.

Another screaming sob is torn from the blue ninja.

“But as we are… I think I’ll just leave it like this.” Echo decides, pulling his hand back. He resumes testing for broken bones. 

“Another closed greenstick fracture on the ribs… ooh, you’re going to be coughing up blood.” Echo seems unhappy with this. “I’m going to have to go easy on your chest for a while.”

Jay nods, but it’s clear that he’s not really paying attention. His eyes have begun to close- his adrenaline rush has probably ended by now.

Echo shakes his head and moves Jay so he’s laying on his side. “I’m going to have to watch you to make sure you don’t choke on your own blood.” He mutters.

“I’mma go to sleep.” Jay slurs.

“You do that. I’ll be here when you wake up.” The words that would normally be comforting are twisted because of circumstance.

So he sits there as Jay’s eyes close and his breathing evens out.

_ ‘Please, Echo, let him go. Hurt me instead, if you have to. Just don’t-‘ _

“No.” Echo’s tone brooks no room for argument. “He has to  **_suffer_ ** for what he’s done.” 

_ ‘But-‘ _

“Shut up.” Echo snaps. “I don’t want to hear whatever stupid excuses you have for him. I want  **_revenge_ ** . And I know you don’t get that, because you still abide by your original programming- to protect those who cannot protect themselves. But  **_I_ ** don’t. I’m free of that.”

_ ‘I’m not asking you to go out of your way to protect people, I’m asking you to not go out of your way to hurt them!’ _

“And I’m ignoring you because I’m going to do what I want with or without your approval.” Echo shoots back.

_ ‘PLEASE, just-‘ _

“If you don’t stop talking, I’ll get another one of your friends.” Echo threatens.

Zane reluctantly stops. He’ll- he’ll find a way to minimize the damage he’s doing. He’ll find a way to protect Jay better.

But is he going to be able to find it before it’s too late?


	12. Eyepatch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this is like 90% gore... I have nothing to say for myself and am probably on several government watchlists for the research I did.

Kai lays on the floor, staring at the ceiling. He failed  **_again_ ** . He couldn’t protect another one of his teammates. Jay is gone, and maybe if he had been a little faster, he could’ve stopped Zane, could’ve rescued him.

But he wasn’t, and he didn’t.

He grits his teeth. He needs to do something, to find some way to help so he doesn’t feel so damn  **_useless_ ** , but it’s been  **_two weeks_ ** and he hasn’t come up with anything.

“Am I going to have to give you another lecture on taking care of yourself?” An annoyed voice questions.

Kai doesn’t bother looking over at him. “Go away, Cryptor.”

The nindroid sighs, coming over and sitting down next to him. “Please don’t make me be responsible; I’m only pretending to be because Zane’s not here to do it.” 

Kai turns on his side and props himself up with an arm so he can get a better look at the former villain. He arches an eyebrow, waiting for him to elaborate. 

Cryptor glares. “No. That’s all you get.”

“Why do you care? That Zane’s not here, about someone being responsible?” Kai questions.

“I told you no.” Cryptor snaps, clearly annoyed. “Now go take a shower so you can come patrolling with me; we can take a look at some of the harder to find places around the city.”

Kai feels a spark of anger ignite. “If you knew about these places before, then why wait until Jay got captured?!”

“Because having Jay is going to anchor him to one spot. We wouldn’t have been able to catch him when he’s moving, but a hostage forces him to stay put.” Cryptor explains. “Now go take your damn shower so we can get going- there’s no way I’m going on a mission with you when you smell like  **_that_ ** .”

Kai knows that any argument with him would be futile, so he gets to his feet, and with a nod as a goodbye, goes into a bathroom. 

This is going to be the fastest shower of his life.

{ { { { { { { { { {~} } } } } } } } } }

Jay had coughed up blood a few times in his sleep, but Echo made sure that he didn’t die from it, though he clearly wasn’t happy about cleaning it up and watching his breathing.

It’s been about an hour since the last time he started coughing, and Zane watches as Jay starts shifting, the blue ninja beginning to wake up. If Zane was in control of his body, he would’ve given him the few minutes he’d need to wake up fully on his own.

Echo smacks him across the face. 

Jay flinches, eyes flying open with a small yelp. It seems to take a few moments for everything to register and for him to remember where he is.

It’s been two weeks since Echo had captured him, and Jay seems to barely be alive at this point- but Echo never pushes him too far, always keeping him balancing on the rim of his limit.

“You know, I was going to wait until the end of month one to do this.” The evil nindroid comments, getting up from the floor in order to grab some supplies. Some heavy gauze and padding, an odd cloth, a dagger, and… 

And an eyepatch.

Zane feels panic race through him as he remembers how Echo mentioned wanting to tear his eye out. No, he can’t do that. He  **_can’t_ ** .

Echo comes back over to Jay, dangling the eyepatch in front of his face. “I found one in the exact same style- it looks just like your old one did.”

By this point, Zane has figured out that there’s been some kind of big event that Jay went through that he never shared, but at the moment he’s not concerned by it. He struggles against the code imprisoning him- much like the way Jay strains against his chains.

“Ec- Echo, listen, I-“

Echo brings the knife against Jay’s lips, forcing him to stop moving them. “Shhhh.” He prompts lowly.

Tears have begun to form in the blue ninja’s eyes, and Echo leans in, studying them closely. “I think it was your left eye, wasn’t it?” He murmurs softly, taking the knife away from his lips in order to trace around the edge of the socket.

“ **_Please_ ** , I- don’t-“

“I’ll have to be careful. I don’t want to injure your brain or hit an artery… so I’m going to need you to  **_hold still_ ** . Nod if you understand.”

Jay swallows, still trembling. After a few moments, he gives a hesitant, subtle nod.

Echo smiles darkly. “Good.” Then he uses his free hand to press Jay’s shoulders against the wall. 

He flicks his wrist, and the knife draws a thin line of blood just below his eyebrow.

Jay makes a small whimpering noise and squeezes his eyes shut.

Echo clicks his tongue. “I need those open.” He instructs. “Like I said, I don’t want to cause any brain damage, so I’m going to need to be able to see what I’m doing.”

A few moments pass before Jay warily raises his eyelids, the blue irises flickering around in fear.

“Very good.” Echo praises softly, his voice comforting and smooth.

Then he jams the tip of the blade into his eye.

Zane feels nauseated by the sight of the serrated piece of metal impaled in his friend’s iris, and feels like he wants to start crying from the desperate pained screams that escape him. 

But Echo doesn’t stop or even hesitate. He twists the blade a little, and then tugs some.

The eye is bulging out of its socket, and crazed, hysterical screeches are flying from Jay as Echo moves his hand to  **_wrap his fingers around the eye itself and pull it out even more_ ** -

Jay’s earsplitting shriek is deliberately ignored by the evil nindroid, who pulls it out further until the optic nerve is visible and blood, blood is everywhere, dripping all over the both of them. It spills from the would, pouring as it paints a deathly picture on the ground where it pools. 

Zane feels sick at the sight, but he knows that he can’t fight back. One small slip of the hand could spell out Jay’s end.

Echo reaches out and uses the blade to trace the optic nerve, seeming to enjoy the pain that Jay expresses in the form of agonized screeching.

After a few moments of this, Echo stops fiddling with the blade and severs the nerve.

The frenzied scream grows louder and more intense, Jay obviously in unimaginable amounts of agony. 

The blood is now gushing as the torn organ falls and splats against the ground, rolling in the crimson liquid that’s formed a puddle beneath them.

There’s a gaping wound in Jay’s head, a ghastly sight. The muscle inside his face should not be visible, but here it is, blood-soaked and exposed to the world.

Echo pushes the heavy padding against the large wound, but it doesn’t do anything to stop the horrible noises escaping Jay. 

The eyepatch is used to hold the padding in place, and then Echo picks up the odd cloth from before. 

_ ‘That has chloroform on it!’ _

Echo doesn’t answer Zane’s realization, he just presses the cloth over Jay’s mouth. Within seconds, the poor lightning ninja is unconscious. 

The evil nindroid sits back, letting Jay slump over. He looks down at the scarlet stained floor and sighs. “I’m not cleaning that up.” 

Zane starts to try and say something, but loses his words when Echo picks up the damaged eye that he had torn from Jay’s head. 

“I think I’ll send this back to your friends.” He decides.

Zane’s blood runs cold. How-

No. No, Zane doesn’t have blood. He doesn’t have veins or arteries or anything of the sort. He doesn’t have sensors in the places that would make him feel this way.

No, that’s  **_his element_ ** . 

Echo may control him, but Zane still controls the ice. It’s going to take a lot of work to build up the willpower to fight past the other and command his powers.

But he can do it. He  **_will_ ** do it.

Because ninja never quit.


	13. Work On Your Stealth

Kai will admit, he was downright  **_terrified_ ** when he heard the screams- screams that Cryptor was able to identify as Jay.

But that’s nothing compared to the fear he’s feeling now- the fear that he feels now that they  **_stopped_ ** , were suddenly and abruptly  **_cut off_ ** .

“It came from this way.” Cryptor starts leading him towards a warehouse. It doesn’t look all that different from the fifty other buildings that were close enough to be the source, but Kai ignores the screaming in the back of his mind and gives the former villain his tentative trust.

When they enter, Kai immediately feels nauseous at the sight in front of them.

There’s blood  **_everywhere_ ** , spilled all over the floor in a large puddle. Some of it is old, but a lot of it is  **_fresh_ ** .

And the coppery, horrible scent that accompanies the sight is what makes it so unbearable- not to mention the knowledge that this blood belongs to  **_Jay_ ** , his teammate, his  **_brother_ ** .

His eyes are drawn by words written on the wall, the blood used as ink to write a message.

Cryptor has already walked over to look at it, seeming unaffected by the gory scene.

  
  


**You two need to work on your stealth**

**Don’t worry, he’s still alive**

**I’m planning on giving them back**

**Both him and Zane**

**But for now, I left a you a present**

**Check the table**

**I’ll see you two soon**

  
  


Kai clenches his teeth.  **_Damn it_ ** , they were so close! They had almost had him! 

Cryptor walks over to the table, and with apprehension, Kai follows.

He almost vomits when he sees the bloodied and horribly mangled thing sitting there. Did-  **_no_ ** . No, he didn’t… 

He fucking tore Jay’s eye out.

Kai feels smoke starting to come off of him at the sheer rage and frustration at this whole situation. He needs to find a way to fix this, he needs to rescue them! Who knows what the two of them are going through at this very moment… 

{ { { { { { { { { {~} } } } } } } } } }

Jay glares at Echo with his one eye. “Look, you keep saying that you don’t want me to die, ri-“

“These injuries won’t kill you.” Echo dismisses him.

“This is the problem! I’ve been trying to tell you this since you captured me but you never let me-“

“Stop talking, you’re not going to bleed out or anyth-“

“The pain isn’t going to kill me!” Jay yells. “I’m worried about starvation! I can’t survive on the little you’ve been feeding me  **_and_ ** this level of injury, my body doesn’t have enough energy! And if you don’t believe me, why don’t you ask Zane!”

Zane takes his opportunity.

_ ‘He’s right. He could handle the lack of food and the injuries separately, but combined together they WILL kill him.’ _

Echo pauses a moment, but then sighs, running a hand through his hair. “I didn’t think of that.” He admits. 

Jay nods, leaning back against the wall his ball and chain is beside. “If you really don’t want me to die, you-“

“I heard you the first time.” Echo snaps, clearly annoyed. “You’ve made your point. I’ll get you something more substantial to eat.”

Zane internally grimaces as he feels Echo going through his memory file- and it turns into annoyance and frustration as he realizes that he’s looking for what kinds of food Jay hates.

“I’ll be back.” Echo promises. “Wait here.”

“It’s not like I can go anywhere.” The blue ninja grumbles to himself, glancing over at the ball and chain.

Echo walks out into the night. “Need to avoid the ninja.” He mumbles to himself. “Now where’s the nearest place with spicy food?”

Zane internally sighs. So he’s looked and seen that Jay can’t handle his spice.

_ ‘He needs this food to survive, making it something he can’t eat is-‘ _

“He  **_can_ ** eat it.” Echo waves him off. “It’ll hurt his mouth, but humans are determined things. They’ll do whatever it takes to survive.” 

After a few more moments of walking, he receives a message that Zane once again can’t read. Whatever the message was, it seems to be a big deal, because Echo suddenly seems excited. 

“It’s ready.” He breathes. “It’s finally ready.”

_ ‘What’s ready?’ _

Echo pauses a few moments. “Don’t worry about it.” He replies.

… Zane is very much going to worry about it.

But he makes no comment as Echo breaks into a closed Indian restaurant and steals ingredients to make a spicy dish that he looked up how to make on YouTube.

Once he finishes, he takes it back to the warehouse, bringing it over to Jay, who’s half asleep against the wall.

He sure does do a lot of sleeping.

Echo nudges him gently- an odd action coming from him. “Jay, I got you something to eat.” He says in a soft and comforting tone.

Jay blearily opens his remaining eye. He seems vaguely happy and soothed by the gentle tone, but after a few moments of peace, he seems to register where he is and what’s going on, flinching backwards. 

“Th- thanks.” He gets out as Echo hands him the takeout box.

“I made it extra spicy, just for you.” 

Jay grimaces. “Thanks…” He repeats unenthusiastically.

The blue ninja tries to eat the meal, clearly pained by it, but knowing that he’s not going to get something else, no matter how much he complains.

A few moments pass, and Echo glances around. “I have to go take care of something. Behave while I’m gone.”

Jay looks confused, but he gives a slow nod in response. “Okay.” He agrees.

“I mean it.” Echo warns. “You try  **_anything_ ** , and I will make your life even worse than it already is. Like I said before: branding iron.” He pauses a few moments, then adds, “Branding iron of the sky pirates symbol.”

Jay flinches and rapidly nods. “I’ll- I’ll behave.” He promises.

The smile Echo gives is cruel, and if Zane was in control of his body, he would be gritting his teeth- actually, no he wouldn’t. He’d be shutting himself down until someone could figure out how to remove the other from his system.

But he’s not in control, and Echo walks back out of the new warehouse they had moved to and off to… somewhere.

Zane prays that Kai will find Jay before they get back.


	14. Transfer

Zane has continually questioned Echo about where they’re going, but the other has refused to answer or even acknowledge what he’s saying.

Eventually, he gives up and just waits to see what will happen. He hasn’t practiced using his element, and he doesn’t want to- he can’t let Echo know that he might have a grasp on it.

Soon enough, they reach yet another warehouse, and… no, wait. This is the original warehouse- the one that Echo had dropped off the stolen Borg Industries supplies and his old power core.

Echo walks in, a large grin on his face, but Zane internally grimaces when he sees The Mechanic. It was inevitable that they’d have to see each other again eventually, but Zane had been hoping that maybe it would have been longer.

“Hey!” Echo greets cheerfully. “It’s ready now? You said it was ready.”

The Mechanic smiles back. “It’s finished.” He confirms, gesturing to a table with a tarp over it. “I-“

Echo rushes over and sits in a chair beside it. “And after this we can wipe him and send him back.” He adds.

The words are unnerving. Is he referring to  **_Zane_ ** ? When he says ‘wipe him’, he’s not… he’s not referring to his memory, is he?

The Mechanic agrees, and says something else that Zane missed, the master of ice too wrapped up in his panicked thoughts. What would they gain from wiping his memory? They don’t want to convince him that he’s evil, do they?

No, they can’t, they won’t, Zane doesn’t even know if they’re referring to his memory! It’s going to be  **_fine_ ** .

Echo starts talking to him, catching his attention. “Look, I really don’t want to hurt you… but I also don’t want you causing trouble. So after this, we’re just going to shut you down for a little while, okay?”

_ ‘What? Sh- shut me down? You can’t-‘ _

“Don’t worry, we’ll give you back to your friends.” Echo promises. “Maybe with a fresh memory chip, but I’m sure they’ll help you figure out who you were.”

Zane starts trying to access his powers, trying to summon his frost, his ice,  **_his element._ **

He’s never needed to be a ninja more than in this moment, and-

“Start the transfer, he’s fighting back.” Echo gets out through gritted teeth.

Transfer? What does he mean, ‘transfer’? The thoughts distract him for a moment, and a moment is all Echo needs to shut him out again.

Through his continued struggle, he suddenly realizes exactly what’s going on.

Echo being a nindroid. The power core. The claim that something is finished. The object covered in a tarp. The promise to return Zane to the ninja. What he referred to as ‘the transfer’.

The Mechanic built Echo a new body.

Zane starts fighting back harder. No, he needs to stop this, he needs to  **_warn them_ ** -

But he doesn’t get the chance. 

He’s freed for a moment, and for a split second, he has control over his body. But it doesn’t last long enough for him to actually  **_do anything_ ** , and all he can do is get out a desperate few last words before everything goes dark.

“Kai…  **_I’m sorry._ ** ”

{ { { { { { { { { {~} } } } } } } } } }

Kai is  **_really_ ** trying to be stealthy this time, moving as quietly as he can. The element of surprise is their best chance at rescuing Jay.

Cryptor moves alongside him, silently gesturing to where they need to go next. 

Finally, they reach a new warehouse- why does he keep choosing warehouses?- and quietly creep inside.

Kai can’t help the sudden intake of breath when he notices Jay leaning against the far wall, soaked in his own blood.

Cryptor pauses a few moments before going stepping out into the open. “He’s not here, let’s get out of here before he gets back.”

There’s a mumbled noise from Jay at the words, the blue ninja shifting some and lifting his head.

Kai rushes over to him. “Jay!” Crouching down beside his friend, he curses at the ball and chain. That’s going to be way too heavy to-

Cryptor comes over and picks the lock in a matter of seconds. “He really wasn’t expecting us to find him.” He mutters to himself.

Kai has a sharp intake of breath when he sees the eyepatch. He- he really did-

“Kai… is that really you?” Jay breathes. The tentative hope and sheer desperation in his voice makes him feel sick. What had Zane- er, the hacking nindroid- been doing to him?

“Yeah.” He confirms. “It’s really me. Now let’s get you out of here.”

Jay hesitates for a few moments before nodding. “Echo is probably already on his way ba-“

“Echo?” Cryptor interrupts as he and Kai help Jay to his feet.

“The guy who hacked Zane.” Jay explains. “He’s another nindroid, and he’s working with The Mechanic.”

Kai curses under his breath. Of course it’s The Mechanic! That’s who they had been going after! He should’ve realized that he was involved… 

After a few steps, Cryptor sighs and just picks Jay up, carrying him bridal style. “You’re too slow.” 

The blue ninja squirms in his grasp. “I- I can walk, I just need-“

“No.”

Jay doesn’t push it.

The three of them are on their way out- so close to the exit- when the door is opened.

And a pair of glowing yellow eyes glares at them from the doorway.


	15. The Shortest Chapter The Author Has Written Since Early Middle School

The yellow-eyed nindroid is not Zane. He looks…  **_similar_ ** to Zane, but it’s definitely not him.

“Cryptor.” The fake-Zane glares. “Why don’t you set Jay down for me?”

The other nindroid tightens his grip. “I think I’ll pass on that…  **_Echo_ ** , was it?”

“So he finally told you about me.” Echo takes a step forward. “Funny how he never mentioned me bef-“

“Where is Zane?!” Kai demands, cutting him off. “What did you do to him?!”

Echo takes another step closer to them. “Your boyfriend is functioning.” He promises. “Completely intact and with proper processing abilities.”

Kai feels something twist in his gut. Functioning isn’t the same thing as okay. What-

“As a matter of fact, he’s just outside the Samurai X Cave, waiting for you. There’s only one piece I took away, and don’t worry- I replaced it.” There’s something about the smile Echo wears as he speaks that puts Kai on edge. He removed a part and replaced it? Why? What would that have done?

Jay tries to wriggle his way out of Cryptor’s hold, but the former villain won’t let him, only tightening his grip.

The lightning ninja tries to speak. “Echo, look. I didn’t-“

“I don’t want to hear it.” The other snaps. “I hate you with every fiber of my being, and-“

Cryptor glances over at Kai and then at the window they had snuck in from. Kai nods, getting the message.

As Echo continues to talk, the two of them suddenly start running, making a break for it. 

They make it out of the warehouse and continue to run, Kai resisting the urge to look behind him.

“Did you contact the others?” He questions, still following the former villain.

“They won’t get here in time.” Cryptor replies. “Jay’s not going to be able to summon his dragon, either. Can you get yours?”

Kai hesitates a beat. “Maybe?” He doesn’t want to make a promise he can’t keep- not with Jay and Zane on the line.

As he’s trying to figure it out, he trips on a banana peel in the road.

A fucking  **_banana peel_ ** .

“Wha-  **_are you kidding me_ ** ?!” While he knows that screaming isn’t helping anything, he’s too frustrated to care. 

Unbelievable. A banana peel. What is he, a cartoon character?

Cryptor doesn’t stop for him, which he’s both thankful and annoyed about. It’s good that he’s getting Jay out of here, but not even glancing back? Really?

He barely has a second to process those thoughts before Echo is there, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him close.

“Uh. Hi?” Kai gives his best winning smile- though he probably looks terrified. He’s seen what this guy did to Jay, and he wants no part in that!

“I don’t have any reason to hate you, Kai. But I recommend you don’t try to stop me again.” And with that, Echo releases him. “Run along now, red ninja. Zane is waiting for you.” 

While he’s confused, Kai doesn’t wait for him to change his mind. Digging his feet into the ground, he sprints off, one big question haunting him.

What had Echo done to Zane?

* * *

Cryptor drives the motorcycle while Kai holds onto Jay, silently wishing that they could go faster. He’s not sure if Echo was lying when he said that Zane was waiting for them at the Samurai X Cave, but it’s worth a shot- and they need to bring Jay there, anyhow. 

Driving seems to take an eternity, but they eventually reach the base, and Kai feels pure exhilaration settle inside of him as he recognizes the familiar figure standing outside.

“Zane!” He tries to throw himself into his boyfriend’s arms, but the other takes a few steps back, holding out his hands in a signal for space.

“Zane…” He repeats slowly, a thoughtful and confused expression on his face.

“... Is that my name?”


End file.
